Garden Room Designed for Now and the Future
Published: 20 July 2024
Reading Time: 3 minutes 14 seconds
The beauty of a garden room lies in its flexibility. It can be designed for one purpose today and transformed for another in the future. This is especially true if you invest in a garden room that complies with Building Regulations, as it could even be used as sleeping accommodation.
Recent clients of Swift Unlimited had an eye on the future when choosing a garden room that could be enjoyed by the entire family. They approached Swift Unlimited with the vision of creating a home gym, office, and family room. Additionally, they wanted a room that could be used as a physiotherapy treatment room in the future.
Swift Unlimited are bespoke design specialists who work closely with each client to design a garden room that suits their needs rather than sticking to a set layout or palette of materials - this is where the "unlimited" part of their name comes from.
In collaboration with their clients, an 8m x 5m building was decided upon. The garden room stands 2.8m high, offering greater headroom than typical garden rooms, which usually have a maximum external height of 2.5m to comply with Permitted Development rules. This additional height and the 40sqm footprint of the building meant that both Planning Permission and Building Regulations were required.
Swift Unlimited handles both the Planning Permission process and Building Control sign-off as part of their turnkey service. The project also required a tree survey before work commenced, which the Swift Unlimited team organised.
Floor Plan Divided to Create Rooms
The interior of the garden room has been divided to create a large main room that serves as the home gym and family space, with a kitchen area in one corner for making drinks and snacks. A well-appointed shower room is situated in the rear right-hand corner, with a 2.3m x 4.8m room in front that might serve as the office area today but will be used as the physio treatment room in the future.
As these images show, Swift Unlimited finishes the interior of their garden rooms to a high standard, with plastered and decorated walls and ceilings, and quality wooden flooring. They work with you to decide on the arrangement of doors and windows. The glazing specification for this project included a 2m x 1m rooflight in the main room. Top light from a rooflight like this is a clever trick in a large space, ensuring the back of the room is naturally lit.
A space-saving pocket door leads into the office/treatment room. The partition walls forming the treatment room have been enhanced with acoustic insulation.
Swift Unlimited’s customised specification extends to the electrical system, which for these clients includes a climate control system, a programmable and thermostatically controlled radiator, concealed TV and HDMI cabling, and a hardwired internet connection, in addition to a plentiful supply of LED lighting and power points. An external power socket is another useful addition.
SIPs Garden Room with Cedar Cladding
As mentioned, Swift Unlimited handles the entire project for their clients, including project managing the installation phase from laying the foundation to making final connections to the services. The Swift team ensures the right materials and people are on-site at the right time.
They utilise Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), creating a highly insulated envelope at the core of their multi-layer build-up.
The interior of their garden rooms is finished to a high standard, and the exterior is equally high-spec. In this case, Western Red Cedar cladding has been paired with aluminium doors and window frames finished in dark grey, which is a popular pairing for a contemporary look
Swift Unlimited undertakes all the groundwork required to connect the electrics and plumbing for the kitchen and shower room to the mains services, and ensures the work is signed off by Building Control. Their clients are left with a fully commissioned, ready-to-use set of rooms once the Swift team completes their work.
Challenging Weather Didn’t Stop the Team
The on-site build commenced in January 2024, and the team overcame challenging freezing weather to complete the entire project in five weeks. The Swift Unlimited team liaised throughout the build with their clients and the garden landscapers, ensuring all work in the garden dovetailed.
The project cost £94,300, including VAT and all options and extras, which also included the planning approval process.
5-Star Review
“Swift produced a robust garden room that looks amazing. The team were thorough, hard-working and skilful. The building is quite robust and well insulated. We now have multiuse space for family, office and a future physio clinic.” KB – St Albans
Learn More
To learn more about creating a garden room that will serve you well today and in the future, chat with the Swift Unlimited team at 01625 875 588 or email support@swiftorg.co.uk. Explore www.swiftorg.co.uk to see more of their work.
